Feb 27 More Reasons to Dislike ESPN and Digger Phelps

Last time I looked at it, Purdue was in the tourney field at 17-9 as an 11 seed. I look at it yesterday and now Purdue is not only out of the field but they're not even listed in the "Last Four Out." No, they're featured in the "Next Four Out" column as well as the "Off The Board" column. Wait, what the eff?

Purdue is now 18-10 with two winnable home games remaining and then the Big Ten Tourney. So with the chance to easily have 20-22 wins this season in the Big Ten (plus an over-.500 record in conference play), that won't be enough to get in? I mean, we're so sure of that that Purdue is "off the board"?

To compare, Indiana University is listed as a 10-seed. They are one half-game better than Purdue, record-wise, this year (at 18-9) and one game better in the conference. Yet they're in? I don't follow.

An even better one is Texas Tech projected as a 9-seed, despite being 18-11 overall and 7-7 in the Big Twelve...and an ugly five game losing streak two weeks ago. But hey, it's Bobby Knight, right?

Oh, and why is Digger featured here? Because he's easy to hate. He went on last night about how the Big East could get eight teams in the Tourney but that the Big Ten shouldn't get more than five. He said that it's likely no Big Ten team will advance to the Sweet 16 since the conference isn't "tough" enough and the good teams in the Big Ten aren't really "challenged" the way teams in other conferences (he cited Duke and UNC) are challenged throughout the season. Never mind that the top two teams in America played on Sunday and were both from the Big Ten. I guess they don't count. He actually even pointed to that game and said it was 49-48 and kind of made a face about how that doesn't bode well for those teams when they face stiffer competition.

Why, Digger? Do you think they couldn't score more than that because they were shooting at the wrong baskets all game or something?